


Nightblood Under the Bed

by forgot_my_art



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Clexaweek21, F/F, Madi is Clarke Griffin and Lexa's Child, Married Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Supernatural AU - Freeform, day 3 reunited, monster!lexa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29821776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgot_my_art/pseuds/forgot_my_art
Summary: When Clarke’s daughter Madi gets kidnapped, an outraged monster comes out from under Madi’s bed. It’s has horns, it has a tail and it’s… Lexa, her wife who disappeared six years ago?
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 15
Kudos: 186
Collections: Clexaweek2021





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to go with something a lot more boring like re-writing season 7 but at the last minute i decided to do a more exciting idea that I have had sitting around that fits, so I wrote all three chapters in one day.
> 
> I want to thank qvert on tumlr for illustrating this.

Clarke is panicking inwardly. Outwardly she is stone faced. 

The sun has just set and Octavia stands before her, bruised and battered, but alive at least. “Clarke… Clarke, say something please? You can scream at me, yell at me, I’m sorry that I let them take Madi, I really am.”

There was no response from Clarke, because Clarke only blamed herself. How could she let her precious baby out of her sight like that? Madi was only six years old. She might never see her smile or laugh again, just like Clarke never saw Lexa again. 

_That morning had been like any other. Lexa came back from her morning jog to Clarke making breakfast. Tea for Lexa and coffee for Clarke was set up. Clarke heard Lexa plod back down the stairs after her shower and felt arms snake around her wait despite the roundness of her protruding belly. Lexa’s arms were like a warm nest._

_“How are my two favorite girls in the world?” she asks in Clarke’s ear. Her voice never fails to send butterflies fluttering in Clarke’s stomach._

_She smiles and turns the stove off, turning in Lexa’s arms to face her. Lexa leans her forehead against Clarke’s with a smile._

_“We’re doing good today. Not too much moving around right, little one?” Clarke starts addressing Lexa and then ends addressing the bump that is their baby._

_Lexa shifts her hands to Clarke’s stomach, long fingers splaying out. Her face is affection, love, reverence, and all the best things in the world rolled into one. “One more day. Just one more and I get off until you give birth.” She then kneels down and kisses Clarke’s stomach. “Just one more day, Madi. Aren’t you excited to have your Nomon around?”_

_A kick is the response and Lexa is absolutely delighted. Her grin is infectious and Clarke can’t help but smile as well. This was perfect, Clarke thought. She could ask for nothing more. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t realize as she kissed Lexa goodbye that morning that it would be the last time she ever saw those green eyes, the wide smile, and sharp jawline._

Finally, Clarke looks at Octavia and gives her a tired, sad, smile. “It’s okay, Octavia. I’m okay. Go home and rest. Staying here won’t do anything to help her”, she whispers out. As she says it, a tear slips from the corner of her eye and rolls down her cheek. It is a heart wrenching contrast, her tear of heartbreak and smile of acceptance. Except it is something one person should never have had to accept in a lifetime. The life of Clarke Griffin is harsh and unforgiving.

Octavia looks at her pitifully but doesn’t push. She tells Clarke to call her if she needs anything and then leaves, albeit reluctantly. As soon as the door closes Clarke collapses into the couch and lets the sobs take over her body. She curls into herself, putting her face in her hands. Her shoulders shake violently as she whimpers through her sob.

First she had lost Lexa, and when she had lost Lexa she had gotten back onto her feet because she had to for Madi. Madi was the only part of her plan with Lexa’s life that was still there after Lexa disappeared. She had resolved to show Madi pictures and stories and videos of her Nomon that she never got to know and never would. Now she was gone too.

Of course, life has other plans, because even her private grief and pity party gets interrupted. “Let me help you find Madi.”

Clarke’s head shoots up and her heart stops for very many reasons. First, because there are literal rams horns and tail. Second because her skin is a grey color that is completely wrong on human features. Third because it is Lexa. It is the same face, the same confident attitude that said she was going to give it her all. The same attitude that Clarke had fallen for since the first day. Last was her eyes. Her green eyes said it all. Love, sadness, and right now blazing most brightly? Rage.

Clarke blanched and screamed in fear, throwing the closest thing next to her. A menacing pillow. Lexa blinks in surprise and catches the pillow as Clarke fumbles for her phone. “Who are you, and why are you doing this gross impersonation of my dead wife? How did you even get in here???”

Immediately Clarke feels guilt when Lexa’s face slips into sadness. Dammnit why was she feeling remorse for this creature that had just broken into her house? “I know. It’s gross. That’s why I never showed myself to you.” Her voice and reaction is so on point though, that Clarke can’t help but slowly get up from her spot and approach her. The creature watches her and doesn’t move, letting her get closer step by step.

“You’re saying you’re really Lexa?” Clarke asks, straightening her back and attempting to seem menacing even though her eyes are red and swollen and her cheeks are tear stained. She was not going to back down when somebody just barges in. Especially when they barge in on a private cry session.

The Lexa-creature nods eagerly, reminiscent of a Lexa who is offered candles.

She might as well humor the ridiculousness of this situation right? “Fine. Tell me something that only Lexa and I would know.”

There was no pause or hesitation whatever. “We christened the house on that coffee table.” Clarke’s eyes shot open. Okay, yeah this was definitely Lexa. Lexa, who she thought was dead was back. Her head started to spin. How was this possible? She could barely make out Lexa calling out to her and then her world went black.

-0-

Of all the reactions Lexa expected from Clarke, fainting was not one of them. She had to chuck the pillow in order to catch Clarke. Lexa hoists Clarke up into her arms. It has been a long time since Lexa has been able to hold Clarke and she revels in her newfound ability. Carrying her to the bed and setting Clarke carefully down, she pulls the covers over her and kneels down next to her bedside, brushing a loose curl from Clarke’s face.

It had been a long six years. Not seeing Clarke and being able to talk to her had been torture, but how could she have shown up when she looked like this? 

_Lexa raced through the fire, firefighter’s equipment heavy on her back. “Help!” The voice cried from the elevator shaft. She raced forward. The elevator is stuck with a three foot gap at the opening. Lexa wedges her axe between the doors as she pries them open. She radios and reports as she peers in back to her colleagues. It is a kid, perhaps five years old with sandy blond hair. There’s no way he can reach the top and climb up._

_She crawls through the small opening and drops into the elevator. The elevator lets a groan and drops. It won’t hold for much longer. The kid starts crying in fear. “Hey kiddo. What’s your name?”_

_“Aden,” he sniffles out, coughing immediately at the smoke. Lexa nods and smiles encouragingly. “I’m going to get you out of here okay? I’ll push you up and when you get up there, run to your left until you reach the stairwell.”_

_The boy nods, his eyes wide with fear. The elevator groans again. Lexa hoists him up on her shoulder and lifts him up so that he can reach the ledge and scramble up. His blue eyes peek back in. “What about you, miss?”_

_Lexa laughs. “My name’s Lexa. Lexa Woods. I’ll be just fine. So you go on ahead okay?” She knows she won’t get out. She’s not tall enough to reach the ledge even if she tries to jump and the cables are about to snap. If they snap while she is halfway out she will get cut in half faster than she could say a word. The boy nods and leaves. Lexa sighs and leans back against the wall heavily._

_Sometimes perhaps fate didn’t want to work with her. She wouldn’t ever get to go back home today to Clarke. God, Clarke she hoped Clarke wouldn’t hurt too long. Lexa wondered how their precious baby would grow up with just one parent. There is a groan and a sharp sound as the cables finally snap and Lexa feels the elevator drop and she knows her doom is coming. The only thing she can think of is Clarke that morning kissing her goodbye and she thinks, “I wish I had more time.”_

_Then it is as if the world stops because a woman appears in front of her, a woman with red lipstick and high cheekbones. “I’m Becca. I can lend you my flame to protect you if you lend me your body. You can go back to them.” The woman reaches out her hand._

_Lexa takes it and a light engulfs her. She screams in agony. It feels like her body is changing, bubbling, growing, and at the same time on the inside something was forcing its way into her very mind._

-0-

It takes an hour for Clarke to come back around. The entire time Lexa sits beside her on the bed watching her, savoring the first time she’s been able to just stare unabashedly at Clarke for a long time.

Clarke opens her eyes slowly and sits up quietly. She sits there, looking down at her lap for a few minutes. “You’ve been alive for this entire time and you didn’t think to come back?”

Lexa’s heart felt like somebody was gnawing on it. “I didn’t want to. I didn’t want you seeing me this hideous at first. And then…”

Blue eyes shoot up to glare at her accusingly, and Lexa feels exposed all of the sudden. “Then what? What could possibly justify leaving your wife and daughter to think you’re dead?” Clarke is angry, angry in a way that Lexa has never seen and she fiddles because she has no idea what to do. She knows she is at fault but she has no idea how to fix it.

“I didn’t.” 

The answer is as shocking to Clarke as to anyone else. How could she possibly deny it? Not only did she leave them, now she was denying that she left them? What had happened to the kind and caring Lexa she knew? “What the hell do you mean you didn’t?”

_Four Years Ago_

_Lexa creeped in through the open window which let the soft spring night breeze in. She freezes when she sees Madi standing up in her crib. Madi blows a raspberry and claps her hands, bouncing up and down in her toddler way and giggling as if Lexa has just put on a show by climbing through the window. Well shit. Usually by now Madi was asleep._

_Ever since Madi was born, Lexa has snuck into the house in the nighttime to check on Clarke and Madi. It started with little things like changing Madi’s diaper in the middle of the night when Clarke was so tired she passed out in the living room. Or making sure that the thermostat was turned up if Clarke fell asleep in a particularly cold part of the house. Of course, she couldn’t do anything too drastic like carrying Clarke to bed because she’d notice, but helping with the little things made her feel better in an odd way. For the first year or so, Lexa had interacted with baby Madi during the night while she was awake, letting her hold onto or suck on Lexa’s fingers._

_Then when Madi’s first birthday hit it became obvious that Madi was forming cognitive thoughts, and would recognize Lexa if she continued to do so. So instead, Lexa was reduced to climbing through the windows during the nighttime like a thief in her own family’s house._

_Lexa slowly approached Madi in awe. It was the first time she had seen her awake up close in a year(of course Lexa had seen them in the daytime, but she had painstakingly made sure they couldn’t see her, which meant she had been pretty far away). When she reaches the crib she kneels down and puts her hand against the crib bars. “Madi…”_

_Madi blubbers again and grabs one of Lexa’s horns with her chubby fingers, apparently entertained by that. Lexa is stunned to discover that Madi’s blue eyes have turned hazel, making it somewhere between blue and green, a mixture of Clarke and Lexa’s eye colors. “Nomon! Nomon!” Madi gurgles out._

_Lexa freezes. Her daughter just called her Mom in Trig. Madi recognized Lexa. Big fat tears roll down Lexa’s cheeks and she does nothing to stop it because she is grinning in happiness._

_-0-_

_After that, Lexa is unable to stay away. In the night she will come in through the window. Every night after that, Madi is awake and eager to play with her, and Lexa gets to re-tuck her in with a bedtime story, mostly stories of her crazy escapades with Clarke in highschool and college._

_Of course a toddler doesn’t really understand the problem with their Mom crawling in through the window only at night. It isn’t until an entire year and half later, after Madi has moved from a crib to a child’s bed that they run into a problem._

_“Rawrrrr!” Lexa says, bearing her hands as if they’re claws and shuffling closer to Madi who bears a foam sword. She giggles, “Down down down!” and swings her sword wildly. Then Lexa leaps forward and grabs Madi by the waist, spinning her around so that she drops her sword. “Gotcha!”_

_Lexa freezes when she hears the stairs creak as footsteps approach. “Madi? If I catch you still awake and playing you’re in trouble”, Clarke’s sleepy voice rasps out._

_As blessed as Lexa feels to hear Clarke’s voice, she is in deep trouble if Clarke sees her right now. She quickly tucks Madi back in bed and shows her a shushing motion, hoping the toddler would get the message before diving under Madi’s bed._

_Right in time too, because the door creaks open and Clarke steps in. “Madi, what did I say about bedtime?”_

_Madi is in no mood to discuss bedtime. “Mommy, mommy!”_

_Lexa can see Clarke’s feet get closer to the bed until she sits on the edge. Lexae lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. God forbid Clarke looked under the bed. “What are you doing up, baby?”_

_“Monsta monsta”, Madi giggles, as if it explains everything. Lexa’s heart drops in fear and in disappointment, but then Madi continues and her heart lights up despite the fact that Madi most definitely did not understand her shushing motion.“Monsta pway! Monsta fun!”_

_“What monster?”Clarke answers, confusion filling her voice._

_“Monsta undah bed”, is the gleeful answer._

_“There’s no monster under your bed sweetie… it’s just your imagination”, Clarke replies, attempting to placate her daughter and get back to bed as soon as possible._

_In a sudden sentence of coherence, Madi says, “Nomon! Monsta look like Nomon!”_

_Clarke sighs, and Lexa feels like she’s getting slapped in the face at the sadness that accents Clarke’s words. “Honey… Your nomon isn’t a monster… she’s just-” Clarke’s voice breaks a little here. “Your nomon is dead. She won’t come back. Now sleep.”_

_For a week following that night, Lexa doesn’t return. She spends those nights in turmoil, opting to send other people to watch them for her. She doesn’t want to just pretend to be a figment of imagination, she doesn’t want her daughter to think of her as a monster. Wasn’t it better for Madi to just grow up thinking this was her imagination and never know that her Nomon was a real Nightblood monster?_

_It wasn’t until Lincoln came back and reported that Madi had cried every night that Lexa didn’t show up to tuck her into bed that Lexa returned. Every time Clarke came to check on Madi, Lexa kissed Madi on the cheek and dove under the bed. Just like that, Lexa became the nightblood monster under Madi’s bed_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out where Lexa has been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I promised, this is getting updated. The last chapter will be uploaded Sunday at the end of Clexaweek

Clarke stays quiet throughout Lexa’s recollection of her nights with Madi. In fact she stays quiet for so long after it as well that Lexa starts to think she zoned out and didn’t listen to the story at all and Lexa should’ve just gone with a shorter explanation.

“So that’s why Madi kept insisting the monster under her bed looked like her Nomon from the picture in the living room even after all these years”, Clarke finally murmurs, running hand through her blond hair.

Clarke swings her legs around so that they touch the floor. “How do I know you’re not going to just up and leave again? I need to know you’re here to stay if you’re going to help look for Madi.” The unspoken part hangs in the air.  _ I need to know if you’re trustworthy enough to let you stay near Madi and I. _

Lexa shuffles on the carpet until she is kneeling in front of Clarke. She looks up at her, neck exposed in the tilt. “I swear fealty to you, Clarke. I vow to treat your needs as my own, and Madi’s like my soul depended on it.” She wills Clarke to see that she means it in her eyes. That she won’t leave as long as Clarke doesn’t ask her to.

Clarke doesn’t smile, nod, or say anything. She just reaches her hand out to Lexa. Lexa slowly slips her hand into Clarke’s. They stand up together, green eyes and blue eyes locked. It is not forgiveness, but it is understanding.

They jump apart and start blushing like they did when they were teens at the sound of a car horn blaring.

Clarke clears her throat awkwardly, trying to look anywhere but Lexa. “So where do we start?”

-0-

  
  


It turns out, letting Lexa lead is a rather bad idea. She brings Clarke through a metal grate into the sewers, which lead off into a concrete encased tunnel. The tunnel is slightly better in smell, but still no more appealing with its flickering yellow lights and cold draft. All in all, if Lexa is trying to woo Clarke again, she is doing an awful job. Actually, even if she isn’t trying to woo Clarke and trying to get Clarke to trust her again, she would also be doing an awful job.

Clarke’s emotions flip flop like a fish out of water between wanting to throw herself into Lexa’s arms or fuel that roaring angry fire that hates Lexa for leaving. Is it possible to be both simultaneously? 

They turn into another tunnel, this time lit with torches that sat on holders against the brick walls. This section was obviously much older than the rest. Even the air was staler. The echo was less prominent and much more muted. Most surprisingly of all, Clarke started to smell absolutely delicious food.

Then turn one last corner and Clarke almost walks into Lexa’s back. Her jaw drops at the large space. It is obviously an old abandoned subway station, but there are tents and makeshift houses erected, market stalls lining the unmarked streets. The ceiling is arched, kind of like if Grand Central station sat around without being maintained or used for a few decades. An overhang with hazy floor to ceiling glass (probably used to be offices) hangs from the ceiling all the way in the back, overlooking the entire makeshift city. “Welcome to Polis”, Lexa says, her eyes twinkling with pride.

She beckons Clarke forward and slips her hand into Clarke’s, tugging her through the confusing streets. Clarke is so distracted and in awe of the place she forgets that she shouldn’t be so close to Lexa and holding her hand back.

People call out to Lexa. Well there’s two inaccuracies in that sentence. First, they don’t call her Lexa. They call her “Heda”, but Lexa responds all the same. Second, they aren’t people. There are green skinned orcs, centaurs, a literal glob of slime, some that resemble wolves more than humans, some with wings. They weren’t all human sized either. It was a collection from a book of ultimate mythical monsters.

As they pass by a particularly big intersection, two strange creatures join and start to flank them, but a step behind respectfully, as if too scared to walk in step with them. The first is like a Doberman Pinscher but standing up. Gear and armor are strapped across her body. The second is an ugly sort of creature with a clunking metal club as a leg on one side and a donkey’s leg on the other. His otherwise completely human body is clad in robes. Other than his menacingly bald head.

The bald donkey leg man starts talking to Lexa rapidfire in some sort of language, but Lexa is having none of it and raises the hand that is not holding Clarke’s. In a commanding way that resembles how Lexa used to command her firefighting team, Lexa’s tone is soft, short, concise, and clear. “English, Titus.”

The doberman snorts at Titus’ failed attempt and starts reporting about sightings. Lexa holds up her hand again and this time barks, “Shof Op!” They approach the back wall and she lets go of Clarke’s hand for the first time since entering Polis. Lexa whips around with a glare. “I will deal with all of that when I am back. Get me Anya, Lincoln, Luna, and Niylah.”

Titus and Indra look particularly unhappy about the order, but still bow their heads and murmur something that sounds like, “Sha.” Titus even gives Clarke a dirty look before he scurries off.

As soon as they are gone, Lexa’s expression turns gentle as she returns her gaze to Clarke. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay”, Clarke says, even though it’s not because since when has her wife gone from an upright firefighter to the leader of these creatures in an abandoned underground station? Not for the first time this night, Clarke wonders if she knows Lexa at all. Perhaps it’s been so long that Lexa is a completely different person now.

While Clarke was inside her thoughts, Lexa has stepped closer and Clarke realizes when she smells Lexa. Despite living in different conditions and looking different, Lexa still smells like smokey wood. Lexa is now a lot closer than she was, almost on top of Clarke. They were the same height as they always had been, but somehow Clarke felt small in this place where she was unfamiliar.

“May I hold you?” Lexa asks hesitantly.

Clarke’s throat clenches. Before she can think about how she  _ hates _ Lexa for the time she was gone, Clarke is already nodding. Lexa’s warmth engulfs her as arms wrap securely around her waist. Clarke has missed this so much, she is about to close her eyes when wings sprout from Lexa’s back.

You didn’t read it wrong. Leathery bat wings erupt from Lexa’s shoulder blades and start flapping, lifting them in the air until they are flying upward. Clarke yelps as her feet leave the ground. This is most definitely NOT what she meant when she said yes to being held. They land on a metal landing with a thump, and all too soon Clarke is being let go. Lexa steps past her and starts to unlock the door.

Clarke finally understands why Lexa flew up to the hanging section. The top half of the stairs have been completely ripped off the wall. It was like they were purposely pulled off, step by step. They are so high up that Clarke’s head spins a little looking down at the gaping hole in the metal stairs. She turns when the door creaks behind her. Lexa is holding the door open and shrugs. “That way nobody but the people with wings and the people I trust can get up to my place. Minimizes the chances of a crime against me.”

“So you just wrap your arms around all your visitors to fly them up here?” Clarke says scathingly as she steps over the threshold. It is a rather small and cozy place. There is a large table in the middle, shelves that line the left wall, a bedroll lining the right wall and a chest. The table and the remaining wall are covered in maps marked with all colors of pen and photographs. It reminds Clarke of all the CSI shows.

Blue eyes follow Lexa as she walks across the room. She doesn’t even look at Clarke. “No.” The word is clipped and there is no offer of more.

The brunette studies the maps on the table for a moment. Her eyes meet Clarke’s. Tension builds in the air so thick it is almost choking. Clarke glares angrily at Lexa because he wants to surge forward and kiss her. This distance is so damned stupid. It’s still Lexa and she doesn’t know why she’s being so foreign to Lexa all of a sudden.

Lexa’s lips are so plump and inviting despite their grayish tinge, if not even more inviting. She has imagined again and again what it would feel like to kiss her again, and now they are alone in a room together, with nothing to stop-

A bell clangs and somebody hollers over the chaos “INFILTRATION, INFILTRATION! IT’S MONSTER HUNTERS!” Well, Clarke was wrong, there was something to stop them from kissing.

Lexa doesn’t as this time as she crosses the distance in three strides, wrapping her arms around Clarke and taking off. In the most dramatic way possible, they crash through the glass wall and the glass showers down around them, but it doesn’t seem to phase Lexa. She flies to another wall and lands, tugging Clarke through it. Gunshots echo behind them.

For a while it is just their labored breathing as they run. Unfortunately it does not stay that way. “This way!” Shouts echo the tunnels. Lexa tugs them faster insistently, but whoever it is continues to follow their tail until they are almost upon them. In a move that Clarke would’ve never expected, Lexa turns the corner abruptly and pins Clarke against the wall, pressing her hands against the brick next to Clarke’s head. Her wings unfold to surround Clarke.

“There they are! Over here, we found the commander!”  
Shots are fired. Clarke feels like she is watching in slow motion as the bullets pierce Lexa’s skin but at the same time she is transforming. Her entire body is becoming thicker, more muscular. Fangs grow from her bottom jaw. Her tail thickens. Parts of her skin darkens on her face into a pattern that looks somewhere between ruined mascara and a raccoon. A bright gear symbol starts to glow in the middle of her forehead. Her hands turn into claws and spikes pop out from her spine down her tail. Lexa grows until she towers over Clarke. Despite the changes however, she still grunts in pain every time she is hit by a bullet. Black liquid oozes from her wounds.

“Lexa…”Clarke murmurs in horror.

Lexa manages a pained smile. “It’s going to be okay, Clarke.” Even in the worst of situations, the idiot’s first instinct is to make Clarke feel better.

She looks weaker by the second. It dawns on Clarke that she could possibly lose Lexa again. For real this time. Clarke leans up and murmurs, “I love you.” Then their lips meet. It is a sad, desperate thing, because Clarke can feel Lexa shaking and about to collapse from the bullets burying themselves into her, and Lexa’s fangs are in the way. 

As Clarke pulls away, Lexa opens her mouth to say something when a war cry interrupts. Relief blooms on Lexa’s paling face and she collapses forward against Clarke as the gunshots wane. Clarke attempts to catch Lexa but ends up sliding against the wall down to the ground with Lexa.

Now that Lexa isn’t blocking her line of sight, Clarke sees a bunch of bodies dressed in light grey and blue uniforms on the ground. Standing over them is a fox-like creature and an orc. The orc is rather bald and handsome. Much easier to look at than Titus.

The fox is reporting back on the radio. “Yeah, we took down the ones going after the commander, Luna. You got Niylah with you?”

Meanwhile the orc lumbers over to help Lexa up. Lexa lets him, but obviously tries to lean on him the least as possible. She holds the worst wound on her side where two bullets somehow punctured the same wound. Otherwise the gunshots look more like scratches. Hundreds of scratches, but scratches nonetheless.

Apparently satisfied with the response she got from the radio, the fox looks up orders, “Lincoln, get Heda back to TonDC, we are evacuating everyone there for now.”

“No. We’re going to save Madi. If they are attacking Polis, there should be less people in Azgeda”, Lexa insists indignantly, her voice laced with pain. She pushes herself off of Lincoln. 

Clarke has to disagree. She’s not choosing between her daughter and wife, but right now she can  _ see _ that Lexa is in pain. There’s no way she’s going to let 

“Heda, you are in no state to go running off to save a child-” the fox beats her to objecting Lexa’s objection.

“I am your commander and you will not tell me what I can or cannot do, Anya!” Lexa snaps. She scrunches up her face in concentration and Clarke watches as the gear symbol on Lexa’s forehead starts to glow. As if being pushed out by Lexa’s body itself, bullets start falling back out, and the wounds cease to bleed.

It is a miraculous affair that as a doctor, Clarke can’t help but gawk at. If only humans had that ability, she wouldn’t be stuck working overtime every week. Unfortunately, Lexa doesn’t have the strength to keep it up for very long. Her face starts to get paler and drops of sweat start to trickle down her face from exertion. Abruptly the glow fades from the symbol as she collapses against Lincoln again, chest heaving. The handsome looking orc catches her easily, letting her lean on him while Lexa tries to even out her panting breaths.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The finale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a day later than I was planning on uploading, but I got swamped yesterday, so here is the finale everyone's been waiting for.

Anya is absolutely not having it, “Heda, all the creatures in the coalition NEED you to survive. They depend on you to defend them! You can’t just go risk everything to save a child!”

Lexa’s jaw clenches at the defiance Anya shows, because the voice that has been inside her head practically parrots Anya’s. “You promised me the use of your body.” Becca’s voice invades Lexa’s brain, it’s like getting your own thoughts shoved aside roughly for the thoughts of another. In one word, it’s invasive.

She’s given her all to these people, and given over to Becca’s whims for years now. Lexa has shouldered this responsibility of protecting these people because they deserve a life too. But where’s her life? She had abandoned it to save the lives of all of these people. Now it was her own daughter that was in danger, it was the trust that Clarke had in her that she was going to risk, and she wasn’t even allowed to save that.

Salvation from her conflict comes from Clarke. Clarke who’s bright azure eyes sparkle in the dimly lit tunnel with a fierceness that is uniquely hers as she says, “Then maybe life should be about more than just surviving.”

Suddenly, Lexa considers that she is her own person. Perhaps her life doesn’t need to be dictated by responsibilities shoved onto her, and she could live a little as well. Becca’s voice gets louder and louder, but to Lexa it gets farther and farther away because as the seconds tick by and she stares at Clarke, she becomes sure that she’s okay with taking that leap of faith. So she whips her head up and glares straight into Anya’s eyes.

“I will go rescue my daughter. You are either with me, or you are my enemy.”

-0-

A thorough check from Clarke is insisted upon before Anya grudgingly relents to the plan. They proceed down the dark tunnels at a punishingly fast pace and eventually meet up with an ichthyocentaur (a centaur with a fishtail instead of hind legs) and a...human? She’s blond with alabaster skin, a sharp jaw and beautiful cheekbones. Even Clarke, whose mind is a whirlwind trying to keep up with the events of the last twenty for hours cannot help but admit that.

It isn’t until she sidles up next to Clarke and introduces herself. “Hey, I’m Niylah.” She does a double take when she turns to meet the gaze of this nice individual. The eyes Clarke looks into are blood red, and the smile that graces Niylah’s face reveals two wickedly sharp incisors. Okay, so maybe not a human either.

If this one was Niylah, that meant the ichthyocentaur was Luna.

“Sorry, I’m a little on edge today. I’m Clarke… uhh Clarke Griffin.” Clarke shakes Niylah’s stunning cold hand. She isn’t quite sure how to introduce herself anymore, because her relationship with Lexa is so unclear, even more so after the kiss earlier. 

Niylah is unfazed and continues smiling her dazzling smile. “It happens. Do you want to go out for a bite after this? I know a good underground cafe.” Clarke can’t tell if Niylah is flirting with her or not. In any case, Clarke ventures to assume that by underground cafe, Niylah means literally underground and not something avant-garde.

“Well, assuming we succeed, I’ll have my hands full making sure my daughter is okay.”

“Next time then”, Niylah nods understandingly, and falls back into place next to Luna.

Meanwhile, Lexa watches this entire exchange from the other side of Clarke with her jaw clenched. Niylah was an amazing soldier, but right now she wanted to punch her too-attractive face inside out. It takes all her self restraint not to order Niylah to get away from Clarke.

The fact that Clarke has reverted to using her maiden surname shouldn’t surprise Lexa, but it does, and it hurts. It’s like a slap in the face that the kiss probably didn’t mean what Lexa had hoped it did.

-0-

As they hide around a corner, creeping through the rows of warehouses on Azgeda Wharf, Clarke is reminded of a spy movie. Luna’s voice crackles to life in their ears. “Left,” she directs from her rooftop vantage point that Clarke has lost track of long ago.

Lincoln and Lexa are surprisingly quiet and graceful in their steps as they creep along. Niylah might as well be one with the shadows. Clarke can barely see her unless she really tries to look for her.

Finally they reach a doorway where yellow light is spilling out from the gap underneath the metal door. Anya shimmies a lock pick into the lock deftly and the door swings open. They creep, crawl, and stalk forward. They approach the center of the warehouse where an area is cleared of crates.

Lexa has to yank Clarke backward and cover her mouth because she surges forward at the sight of Madi tied up in the center of the warehouse to a chair. “Shh… it’s okay. We’ll get her back,”Lexa coos softly into Clarkes ear. Clarke slumps a little against Lexa as they watch two figures, shrouded in the shadows of stacked crates. One paces back and forth, and the other watches, from even further into the shadows.

They watch as a burly man and thin, tall woman walks in, dressed in the same blue and grey uniform as the soldiers who had followed them out of Polis. They looked bruised and battered. The male in particular is limping as he walks forward and bows his head.

The pacing figure stops with a swish of her long coat and asks, “Well?”

“I’m sorry, Mother. We lost track of the Heda.”

Clarke may not be able to see the woman’s face, but the fury is obvious in her voice. She can just imagine the scowl on her face. “I gave you more troops than I should’ve and you still have failed. This is the third time you’ve failed, Roan.” She is not prepared for the sharp sound of the slap that rings out across the room. To his credit, Roan doesn’t make a sound, but the impact is so hard it snaps his head to the right.

He lowers his head and gets onto his knees. “I’m sorry, mother. I beg for your forgiveness.” His words are pure submission, but they are repeated as if they are engraved within him. As if he has said them far too many times.

The woman’s nostrils flare and she closes her eyes. When she opens them again, her eyes are once again cunningly masked of emotion. She whips around on her heels and takes long strides to Madi’s chair. Madi, who is gagged, tries to get as far away as possible. Which is not far at all, considering she can only move her head. Still, she tries to avoid the woman as she reaches out to grasp her chin. It doesn’t work and Madi’s head is jerked forward by the chin so that she has to stare into the woman’s eyes.

Clarke wants the woman away from her daughter. If she had super powers or even a weapon right now, she would pummel or maybe even kill that woman for laying a hand on her daughter.

Chilling, she smiles at Madi in a way that brings tears to the poor girl’s eyes. “It is alright. We have her offspring. Isn’t that right, child? And she shall bring the Heda right to me, the Ice Queen.” Clarke has had enough. She surges forward, pushing herself out of Lexa’s arms.

Lexa realizes two things too late. The first is that Clarke has snapped and is throwing herself at Ice Queen, and the second is that this is a trap. “No!” she cries out, leaping forward as she sees a streak. She barely gets there in time, hands whipping up in front of her to grab onto the very tail end of the arrow shaft. In the end, Lexa stops the arrow a mere two inches away from her left rib cage; exactly the height of Clarke’s heart.

By now, Lincoln, Anya, and Niylah have jumped out of the shadows as well. The Azgedan woman has already reloaded her bow and has it aimed at Lexa, but Niylah is behind her, throwing daggers hefted to take her down. But on the other side, Roan has a sword against Anya’s neck.

Having finally left the shadows, the last person in the room. Person is a rather misleading word because she looks like the type of creature Lexa has become. She has a tail, horns, and wings as well. The only difference is that her horns look more like a bull and the ends are wickedly sharp as if they have been filed to be weapons.

Cold laughter from the Ice Queen echoes the warehouse. “You see, Lexa I have Ontari, and she’s a nightblood too. I don’t need to kill all of you. If I can’t kill all you creatures, I can take the flame from you and  _ use _ all of you.”

Lexa’s eyes warily flit from Ontari to the Ice Queen and back. It is a stalemate and the air hangs with tension as everyone watches each other to see who will move first and when. Then it is as if the pin drops and everyone springs into action. Lexa surges towards Madi, and is blocked by Ontari, both of them pulling out swords and furiously battling it out. Why they would need swords at all when they’ve got their nightblood claws is as much a mystery to you as it is to me.

The woman with the locked and loaded bow releases it as Lexa moves and Niylah jumps forward, engaging in lightning speed combat. Roan is somehow managing to hold off Anya and Lincoln simultaneously. Of course Clarke only has a one track mind. The next move to make is obvious to her. She barrels past Lexa and Ontari to Madi, tugging on the ropes binding Madi. Madi screams through her gag desperately.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay, baby girl. We’re going to get you out,”Clarke attempts to soothe, hoping to all the higher beings that exist that what she was saying was true.

Apparently the beings weren’t listening because Clarke is painfully jerked back by her hair, and her eyes meet cold, chilling eyes. Oh. That’s what Madi was trying to tell her. There 

She heard Lexa calling her name desperately, but her blood boiled. This person was the one that was harming Madi. Clarke raises her foot and brings it down  _ hard _ on the toes of the Ice queen. The Ice Queen howls in pain and releases Clarke’s hair. Clarke pulls away from the Ice Queen, attempting to assume some sort of fighting stance but not really knowing how to.

-0-

Lexa can’t concentrate on fighting when she knows Clarke is engaged in a fight of her own. In their next clash, Ontari lunges forward and Lexa twists away a second too late, the blade nicking her arm. She barely has time to recover before Ontari is bearing down on her and they are locked, blade to blade in a battle of strength. It is strength that Lexa does not have to spare after the events of the entire night. 

Out of the corner of her eye she spots a figure not-so-well hidden behind the crates. Hiis sandy hair and blond eyes peak out, looking at her and then Clarke and Madi in a panic as if he wants to help. Lexa immediately knows the problem, he doesn’t have anything to use to help. There isn’t even a stick he could pick up and attempt to whack the Ice Queen with.

As Ontari bears down, pushing Lexa back onto her one knee, Lexa grabs her own blade in a squelch of black blood as the sword rips into her palm and shoves Ontari back. It buys her the second she needs to close her eyes and push that nagging presence that has been intertwined with her soul for the past six years.

Lexa pushes Becca and the flame out and into Aden She feels her tail and horns recede, and the world gets bigger as she shrinks back to her normal human size. Aden lets out one blood curdling scream, as he transforms, falling to his knees. When he looks up again, he stares at his newly clawed hands in awe. Aden looks up, as if to say “I got this”, he nods at Lexa before charging to save Clarke as the Ice Queen aims a pistol at Clarke.

She doesn’t see the rest because with a bright and loud war cry, Ontari plunges a blade straight into her stomach. Lexa gasps in pain and her hands shoot up to the wound, but Ontari has already ripped the blade back out.

It hurts. She’s in pain. Her face hits the concrete floor and she can’t even muster the strength to push herself back up. Then she sees Clarke as she is flipped over. Clarke is crying, sobbing, asking her not to go.

-0-

In the end, Lexa wakes up in the hospital. Clarke explains that Anya, Luna, Niylah, and Lincoln called the police before vacating the premises, and Clarke had fed the police some line about the same kidnapper holding Lexa hostage for money for six years and then their daughter Madi too.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the events seem so intense that Madi forgets all about them. Once every two years or so. Lexa visits Polis, and Aden shows her around enthusiastically. He looks up to her in a similar way that Madi does.

As for Clarke, Clarke seems to forgive Lexa for all that has happened after she almost dies. They end up closer than ever as Clarke takes care of a healing Lexa. It isn’t until Madi is eleven years old that it is mentioned again. “You know, I once had an imaginary friend that looked like nomon but monster-like. I guess it was really just my imagination after all”, Madi declares before grabbing her backpack and slipping out the front door to catch her schoolbus.

Behind her as the door closes, one can glimpse a Lexa that is as pale as paper, and Clarke, in the kitchen behind her, having dropped the eggs she was going to use in shock.

**Author's Note:**

> I have the next two chapters written already, don't worry, they will be uploaded in a timely manner.


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